Anonymous lanches mass cyber attack on Israel

Israel websites have become the target a mass cyber-warfare campaign since the start of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, Yuval Steinitz, the Finance Minister, said at the cabinet weekly meeting.

According to Steinitz, in the past four days they have “deflected 44 million cyber attacks on government websites.” Steinitz did not say whom they considered responsible for the attacks but noted that they have succeeded in coping with them.

The day earlier the online activist group Anonymous claimed they had hacked dozens of websites of Israeli state agencies and a top bank in protest over Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.

Both Israel and the Palestinians are making good use of social networks these days.

Israel's Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz in an interview with the Galei Zahal Israeli army radio station noted that the Israeli authorities had presented the Hamas movement with a 36-hour ultimatum, on the expiry of which, in case missiles launches from Gaza targeted at Israel did not stop, they would expand their military operation. The Minister stressed that in case Hamas did not stop bombarding the Israeli territory and illegally supplying weapons to Gaza, the matter could reach the point of “totally military solution".

"We are standing at a crossroads. Either a stabilization of the situation is in store for us, or an expansion of the operations, including the totally military solution of the problem that is under consideration at the moment", - Yuval Steinitz said.

The radio notes that Israel has used Egypt as an intermediary in handing the ultimatum. According to its data, indirect talksbetween Tel Aviv and Hamas are under way, but the differences between the parties are still too serious.

On its part, the Voice of Israel radio station informs, that the issue of Egypt’s mediatory role at the cease-fire negotiations will be resolvedon Monday.

According to the army radio, Hamas demands that Israel should completely raise the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli defense forces should undertake not to cross the barrier separating Israel from the Gaza Strip, and terminate pointed strikes.

Israel demands that Hamas should stop missile attacks, and put an end to arms smuggling in Gaza.

People are terrified to death, death tolls are rising, as the violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinians continues for the sixth straight day, despite diplomatic talks in Egypt.

On Sunday a bomb rocketed from Israel hit a two-story home of Jamal Dalu, a shop owner, and killed his entire family: his sister, wife, two daughters, daughter-in-law, four grandchildren ages 2 to 6, along with two neighbors, an 18-year-old and his grandmother. Mr. Dalu was himself at a neighbor’s when the tragedy happened.

The attack was condemned by Hamas rulers as a “massacre” that “exceeded all expectations.”

“The wanted target in this case was responsible for firing dozens of rockets into Israel,” a spokesperson for the Israeli military said. “We are committed to the safety of the citizens of Israel.”

The same Sunday Israelis were awoken by a new torrent of Palestinian rockets, some of them knocked out of the sky by the so called Iron Dome missile defense system.

The whole region is paralyzed. People spent the night in bomb shelters. Malls are closed, virtually no one dares to walk in the street.

“The children are terrified,” Sharon Galili, a lawyer who has 3-year-old twins and a 5-year-old, said. “Every noise they hear — a truck or motorcycle — they ask if there is an alert. You feel their fear. We are not right-wing or left-wing; we just want quiet. The situation is surrealistic, but that is the reality we live in.”

During the ASEAN meeting in Cambodia with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov will declare the necessity of calling of the Middle East “Quartet” in connection with the aggravation of the situation between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Kommersant daily writes on Monday.

"At the meeting with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in Cambodia Sergei Lavrov will insist on an urgent meeting of the Middle East “Quartet” (Russia, the US, EU and UN)", - informs the edition, referring to the data of the Russian diplomatic sources.

The interlocutor of the newspaperexplained that such a meeting had been scheduled at the end of September during the UN General Assembly in New York, but the United States had blocked it.

As it was reported earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Cambodia, where he will represent Russia at the East Asia summit.

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